In February, Ireland finally came clean regarding some very dirty laundry, admitting its long-standing role in aiding and abetting the existence of the notorious Magdalene laundries.

Ostensibly asylums for the reform of "fallen" women, these facilities enabled the Catholic Church to turn a tidy profit by using women - petty criminals, unwed mothers or simply young women deemed overly flirtatious or beautiful, in a country that has long associated women with sex and sex with sin - as a slave labor pool. The last one wasn't closed until 1996. | May 10, 2013»Read Full Article(4)

Madison — In the program for Forward Theater's moving new production of Stephen Karam's "Sons of the Prophet," director Jennifer Uphoff Gray skips the customary director's notes while offering two quotes from Chekhov, suggesting that because suffering is unavoidable and attempts to make sense of it are probably doomed, we need each other more than ever.

Like Chekhov, Karam clearly understands that sad as all this can be, the human condition also makes for great comedy, of that serious rather than guffawing sort that honors the humor baked into our inevitably flawed efforts to reach out and touch someone in his or her — and our — moments of pain. | Nov. 11, 2013»Read Full Article

Americana band Familiar Looking Strangers, from Liverpool, England, is the latest pet project of K-Nation Entertainment, a young music company in Grafton founded and funded by Kapco Inc. owner Jim Kacmarcik. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel photo by Bill Schulz.| Nov. 11, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

Last year local alt rock act Northern Room reunited for the first time since 2008 for a special cause--performing at the Pablove Benefit Concert 2013, to raise money for the Pablove Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to fighting pediatric cancer co-founded by Milwaukee native and Elektra Records president Jeff Castelaz.

Veterans Day is also the birthday of the late American infantryman and former prisoner of war Kurt Vonnegut. In "Breakfast of Champions" he expressed strong feelings about the change, in 1954, of the name and purpose of this memorial date from Armistice Day to Veterans Day:

"When I was a boy... all the people of all the nations which had fought in the First World War were silent during the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of Armistice Day, which was the eleventh day of the eleventh month. | Nov. 11, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

The concert will come nearly two months after the release of the Dap-Kings' newest album, "Give the People What They Want," which was delayed from an initial Aug. 6 release due to Jones' condition. | Nov. 11, 2013»Read Full Article

If so, send your information to cdeptolla@journalsentinel.com with Thanksgiving in the subject line by Tuesday night for publication this Friday, Nov. 15.

Please include hours, whether there’s a special menu, price, phone number for reservations and whether reservations are required, as well as your address and any other info you think is pertinent. | Nov. 11, 2013»Read Full Blog Post

But he's finding time to come back to Milwaukee for a "stripped down" show at the Pabst Theater. Springfield will share stories and perform songs solo on acoustic guitar. | Nov. 11, 2013»Read Full Article